Gamble pays off as McIlroy and Wozniacki get engaged

Punters who took a gamble and placed a bet on golfer Rory McIlroy becoming engaged to his Danish tennis player girlfriend, Caroline Wozniacki also have reasons to celebrate the New Year.

Bookmakers yesterday confirmed they will pay out on any bet placed for the couple to get engaged in either 2013 or 2014 after a dispute arose over which year the event took place.

Reports about the possible demise of the on-off relationship between the Co Down golf star and the former world number one tennis player which sparked headlines in October were firmly quashed with the couple’s announcement of their engagement on New Year’s Eve.

However, anyone who placed a bet on the event happening in 2013 faced an anxious wait as the timing of the engagement raised queries about which year it took place as it was already Jan 1 in Australia where the couple were celebrating the new year in Sydney where Wozniacki is preparing for the Australian Open, despite withdrawing for another tournament in Brisbane on Sunday.

Paddy Power confirmed yesterday that it was happy to treat any money on the couple getting engaged either last year or this year as a winning bet. A spokesperson said it stopped taking bets in June when a 2013 engagement was quoted at 7/2 and a 2014 announcement was 6/5.

“We only took €36 in bets so it won’t break us,” he laughed.

Paddy Power is taking bets on when and where the wedding will take place with 2015 the most likely year at odds of 4/5, with favourite location, Denmark, at 5/6.

A spokesperson for Ladbrokes’ also confirmed that they would pay out to anyone who had placed a bet on the couple getting engaged in 2013 or 2014.

McIlroy and Wozniacki created a storm on Twitter when they both posted a collage of pictures, including photos of the happy couple, the fireworks in Sydney and the Dane’s diamond engagement ring.

McIlroy tweeted: “Happy New Year everyone! I have a feeling it’s going to be a great year!! My first victory of 2014 #shesaidyes.”

Wozniacki’s tweet read: “Happy New Year everyone” Rory and I started 2014 with a bang! I said YES!!!”

McIlroy’s friend and fellow golfer, Graeme McDowell was one of the first to congratulate the couple online with the message “Congrats guys.”